During the interview, Nelson reveals that he "came close" to running for office "a couple times" -- but then, "I sobered up."

"I think you can do more with music than you can with arguments and politics. I think a song will reach more people than any other thing," Nelson continues. "There's a reason that it's called 'harmony': When you play a show, there's an energy exchange with the people that is unimaginable. It's the reason I go out there. I get something out of it too."

"I knew [Donald Trump] back when he owned some casinos, and I worked for him. He always paid me. I had no problems at all," Nelson tells Rolling Stone. As president, though, Nelson thinks Trump has "stepped into a different world."

"It's easy when you can just go bankrupt anytime you want to and say, 'I'll check you later,'" Nelson adds. "But that's hard to do when you're president of the United States."

An avid marijuana user and proponent of the drug's legalization, Nelson laughs off Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recent comments about heroin being "only slightly less awful" than weed.

"I wonder if he's tried both of them. I don't think you can really make a statement like that unless you tried it all," Nelson says. "So I'd like to suggest to Jeff to try it and then let me know later if he thinks he's still telling the truth!"